TLC matches. Inferno matches. Mankind being thrown off the top of the Hell In A Cell, only to be chokeslammed through the roof minutes later. Shane O'Mac elbowing Big Show from the top of the Titantron. Cars filled with cement. Cars dropped from forklifts. Invasions. Screwjobs. Mr McMahon wetting himself in the ring at gunpoint. Mr Socko visiting the hospital. Cactus Jack going through the cell roof. Blood...

The words 'Attitude Era' burn brightly in the minds of any wrestling fan who knows their stuff. It encompasses the latter half of the '90s and the early portion of this millennium, back when WWE was known as the World Wrestling Federation and the notion of PG-rated content was given a two-fingered salute by the company.

It was edgy. It was exciting. It was daring. It was marvellous. And it's precisely what you can expect from WWE '13.

quote

People power

How apt that in the current age of John Laurinaitis' 'People Power' movement the people have spoken and THQ have listened. After last year's disappointing career mode execution, 'Road to Wrestlemania' has been wished well on its future endeavours and in its place is a career mode set entirely within the Attitude Era.

The campaign is all about reliving the past in the boots of eight classic Attitude Era wrestlers, and in a trick borrowed from WWE All-Stars and Legends of WrestleMania, THQ have got WWE to create over 20 bespoke videos (totalling 35-40 minutes of content) to build up the feuds and storylines using archive footage from the shows.

Unlike WWE All-Stars, however, the Attitude Era campaign won't just be a selection of separate matches with no linking themes. Instead we're talking one very long timeline with one wrestler's adventures dovetailing into another's, and although the campaign will be split up into chapters you'll experience the whole thing in chronological order.

What of WCW and ECW? Despite now living under the WWE umbrella these brands won't feature in any big way (WCW will appear from time to time in the show footage vignettes to explain how the Monday Night Wars are going, and HUD elements will pop up pre-match to describe how WWE is faring against its then-rival company), which is a shame.

Making up for their absence is the news of bonus matches that'll unlock as you play through the campaign, so if you're in the middle of a major storyline and you have a match on a PPV that was remembered more for a classic bout featuring a different character, you'll be able to relive that fight also.

And those blasted 'Press to finish the fight' prompts that were spread all through WWE '12's campaign mode? We're pleased to report they've been booted out of the arena and banned from making a return.

quote

I do like Mondays

Of course, what made the Attitude Era truly shine were some of those once-in-a-lifetime moments we mentioned back at the start, which is why THQ have come up with the notion of 'Spectacular Moments'. They're the types of moves that tend to have the crowd yelling, "holy s***!" in awe, and they're finally getting the treatment they deserve.

In the past games, throwing somebody off the Hell In A Cell and through the announce table was both fiddly and massively underwhelming. The move was frequently ignored by crowd and commentators alike, and after a quick breather the victim was up and ready to fight again as if they'd just suffered a clothesline. Now table smashes, ring breaks, superplexes to the outside of the ring and the like will be celebrated for the rare, shocking moments they are with new presentation effects. Pull one off and not only will you notice radically improved animations and framing, you'll get a three-part replay system à la WWF No Mercy to let you bask in the glory (or shame, if you're on the receiving end) of the move. A new addition to Spectacular Moments is the inclusion of catching finishers. Superstars can catch opponents leaping off of turnbuckles and springboarding off the ropes and counter straight into a finisher. Think Randy Orton's amazing RKO on Evan Bourne's Air Bourne (though neither superstar is yet officially confirmed as part of the roster, the former is a certain inclusion) and you're on the right track: the examples we were given included CM Punk catching a superstar on his shoulders and delivering the GTS, Undertaker catching and spinning into the Tombstone Piledriver and Big Show unleashing a Chokeslam (rather than the WMD, surprisingly).

Of course, crazy bumps and supreme wrestling skills aren't the only ingredients of a Spectacular Moment or memorable WWE scene. What would Mr McMahon's Higher Power reveal be without JR yelling, "Son of a Bitch?" on commentary, or Mankind's crazy Hell In A Cell bumps be if you removed the crowd going nuts and JR screaming, "As God as my witness he is broken in half!" Not half as good, that's what. Commentary's been a weak point of the WWE games for years now, so one of the most interesting additions to WWE '13 is the 'WWE Live' feature: a complete audio overhaul.

quote

Crowd control

THQ have brought the UFC audio team over to work on the WWE game and they've completely rewritten every aspect of the audio. But here's the really good part: they've taken actual recordings from past tapings and present crowds (Daniel Bryan's favourite word included) to deliver something that truly reflects the show. Those famous JR lines from the Attitude Era? Well, JR and King commentate on the campaign, so plenty of original quotes will be cropping up as and when you'd expect them to, as will all your favourite WWE Universe chants.

But as the screens clearly show, WWE '13 isn't all about the Attitude Era. Before we get carried away with all the '90s talk it's worth noting that it's CM Punk, not Stone Cold or The Rock, who's bestowed with the honour of being the cover star this year, and the Best In The World will be leading a revolutionary charge in the game's returning Universe mode."I don't want consumers to think now all of a sudden we're focusing on past WWE and current WWE isn't getting much love!" insists Creative Director Cory Ledesma when we ask him about the contradictions of CM Punk's cover and the campaign's Attitudinal focus. "We care a lot about being authentic to the experience," continues Ledesma when we mention our love of John Laurinaitis' General Manager run, "and if there's something really big going on with WWE you can predict or guess that we're going to be very diligent in supporting - closely - what's going on in the programming in WWE '13."

After that glut of fan-pleasing pipebombs there's only one way we could possibly finish. All together now: YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!

re: WWE '13: Breaking expectations in half by returning to the Attitude era

The THQ spin machine is putting out lots of fluff, no true details.

Career Mode sounds like it'll be cool, but ultimately a RTW part 2 with flowing storylines.

quote

What of WCW and ECW? Despite now living under the WWE umbrella these brands won't feature in any big way (WCW will appear from time to time in the show footage vignettes to explain how the Monday Night Wars are going, and HUD elements will pop up pre-match to describe how WWE is faring against its then-rival company), which is a shame.

re: WWE '13: Breaking expectations in half by returning to the Attitude era

yeah, looking forward to hearing more info on career mode. So glad the "press this button to finish the fight" they really annoyed the hell out of me in WWE 12. Hope there is a unlock everything DLC too lol

re: WWE '13: Breaking expectations in half by returning to the Attitude era

I don't see the shame in that. If they featured WCW heavily, that would open another door of problems as to how much of it would be featured and you'd have gamers clamoring for a Monday Night Wars spinoff or something, which'll never happen. And it's bad enough the modern WWE isn't as spotlighted on this year, if WCW came into play, even as a storyline... it would just be too much to consider.

I'm glad they'll make a big deal about the big bumps, and as much as they hype the audio every year I'm always underwhelmed upon experiencing it myself. I really hope it delivers this year.

I don't see the shame in that. If they featured WCW heavily, that would open another door of problems as to how much of it would be featured and you'd have gamers clamoring for a Monday Night Wars spinoff or something, which'll never happen. And it's bad enough the modern WWE isn't as spotlighted on this year, if WCW came into play, even as a storyline... it would just be too much to consider.

I'm glad they'll make a big deal about the big bumps, and as much as they hype the audio every year I'm always underwhelmed upon experiencing it myself. I really hope it delivers this year.

From a game perspective, you can make a good game from exclusively focusing on the WWF Attitude Era without including WCW and ECW. There is more than enough material to work with. I just see it as a wasted opportunity to make a potentially good game...great. I think if they really tried, they can include their involvement...but this is Yukes. They're used to lazy programming and development.

MNW spinoff? Sounds better than those glorified frisbees known as WWE All Stars and that Wrestlemania legends game. They'd make a ton of cash, which is what they've always cared about.

On the other hand, WCW isn't ignored completely in the game, at least. Better than nothing.

re: WWE '13: Breaking expectations in half by returning to the Attitude era

Can't believe this news passed me by. I haven't played a WWE game for about 4-5 years, but this has kind of got me tempted. Not that I'd have time with uni really, but I'll certainly put it on my list for the future if it's as good as its potential offers. I'll follow with interest anyway.

re: WWE '13: Breaking expectations in half by returning to the Attitude era

Don't they usually come out with a good majority of information about the game around SummerSlam time? I think I remember last year they released a lot of news at the fan axxess event. So, if thats true, hopefully we'll have a lot of questions answered next month.

-------------------The Wrestling forum has became a crap infested pool of trolls and morons. *raises glass* TO THE GOOD OL' DAYS!

Don't they usually come out with a good majority of information about the game around SummerSlam time? I think I remember last year they released a lot of news at the fan axxess event. So, if thats true, hopefully we'll have a lot of questions answered next month.

Yeah pretty much but funny thing is, we usually get good amount of gameplay footage during E3 but nothing new was showned and Cory said they will reveal more at Summerslam.